Historically, cannabis and drug laws enforcement has affected communities unevenly. Cannabis legalization legislation brought with it a focus on social equity and efforts to remediate historic injustice. This panel discusses the historic injustice that has affected communities and individuals of color in the State of Connecticut over the past few decades of cannabis law enforcement. The panel also addresses likely remediation strategies that can be employed to help affected individuals and communities take
advantage of economic and employment opportunities that come with legalization.

Welcome Remarks: Lloyd Blanchard, UConn Professor and VP for Finance & Chief Financial Officer

Moderator: Andréa Comer, Deputy Commissioner, CT Dept. of Consumer Protection

Panelists: Corrie Betts, Criminal Justice Chair of the NAACP CT State Conference & Subira Gordon, Executive Director, Conncan

At any given moment our brains are receiving 11 million pieces of information. Yet, we can only consciously process about 40 of those pieces. To make sense of the rest, we rely on our subconscious to filter information. Our brain does this using generalizations, beliefs, and stereotypes. This approach to processing information and making decisions can lead to biases we may not be even aware of. These unconscious biases are normal and in many cases they are useful. However, they can cause people to overlook great ideas and ignore an individual’s potential. They can also result in microaggressions. Microaggressions are everyday slights, indignities, put-downs, and insults that demean or offend others. They are often fueled by our unconscious bias, which means we may not even be aware of them and how they lead to exclusionary behavior. 

Visit our Public Service Executive Leadership Collaborative page for more information.

This full-day session will explore evaluation and performance management of publicly funded programs, including:

• Evolving concepts and practices in evaluation and performance management
• The importance of designing programs with outcomes and evaluation in mind; and
• Engaging staff and providers in using data to understand performance
• Using results to improve program performance

Learning Objectives:

• Ability to describe the concepts of, and appropriate use of, program evaluation, performance management, and program monitoring; and differentiate between them
• Understand and apply outcome-focused program design to new and redesigned programs
• Develop strategies to engage staff and providers in evaluation efforts
• Ability to understand and utilize results to improve program performance

MORNING:

We will explore the topic of evaluation in general, including

• Current topics in the field of evaluation
• Different types of evaluation, including different factors and contexts
• The difference between performance monitoring and evaluation
• Leveraging a performance system to support evaluation efforts
• Understanding why and when to conduct an evaluation
• Deciding whether you need an outside evaluator
• The importance of involving staff and partners
• Dealing with data anxiety and discomfort around working with data and evaluators

AFTERNOON:

The afternoon will include practical steps and actions as part of an effective program performance management program. These include:

• Review of performance measures in the context of program evaluation
• Understanding performance and data contextually
• Leveraging existing data
• Means-to-End thinking
• Post-evaluation review
• Using evaluation results to improve performance

WHO SHOULD ATTEND:

• Practitioners and funders who:
  • want to begin, or expand, use of data to understand performance
  • want to feel comfortable with evaluation and performance management
  • are interested in learning how to use results to improve performance
  • want to know if participants are better off because of their program

The transcontinental railroad and the US interstate highway system are two examples of transportation investments that yielded massive economic benefits. Recently the Capital Region Council of Governments and the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission commissioned a study to look at the economic impact of restoring regular passenger rail service from Hartford to Springfield to Boston. The bottom line is that for a six to eight billion dollar investment, the payback over 30 years would be nine to ten times that investment and yield growth that the region has missed over the past decades.

Welcome Remarks: Lyle Wray, Executive Director Emeritus, Capitol Region Council of Governments Mohamad Alkadry, Head, UConn Department of Public Policy 

Moderator: James Redeker, FHI Studio and former Commissioner of CT DOT

Presenters: Steve Gazillo and Team, AECOM authors of economic impact study on Boston Rail, Dan Hodge, Executive Vice President, Cambridge Econometrics, Inc.

Panelists: Mayor Luke Bronin, City of Hartford, TBA, Northeast Corridor Commission